THIS GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM


THIS GOSPEL OF THE KINGOM

                “And this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all nations and then the end shall come.” Mt. 24:14

                What is the Gospel of the Kingdom? We get a clue in Mt. 4:23 where it says: “And Jesus was going about in all Galilee teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.”

                In other words, Jesus ministry on earth consisted of:

1.       Teaching the principles of the kingdom

2.       Demonstrating the powers of the kingdom

                The plan of salvation then basically involves the restoration of everything Adam lost in the fall. In the fall Adam lost several major things:

1.       He had been created as a temple of God, but He lost that when He chose Satan as his new god. So Jesus came to make us temples of God once again.

2.       When Adam fell, he lost his dominion over the works of God’s hands and Satan took over that dominion. Satan became the god of this world.

                So the Gospel of the Kingdom involves making us temples of God once again and it involves taking that stolen authority back from Satan and restoring to us the dominion and authority over the works of God’s hands.

                Through His life, death and resurrection Jesus took back the kingdom and the dominion and the authority. He taught us its principles and He demonstrated its powers and then He sent His Holy Spirit down to us telling us that the works He had done and even greater works would we do because He has gone back to the Father.

                What went wrong?

1.       The false church of the 4thcentury literally gutted the powers of the Gospel as found in Christ and then mixed it with pagan power, thus bringing other gods into the Gospel

2.       They further weakened the Gospel of the Kingdom by combining it with political power which is far inferior to the unmitigated power of the Kingdom of God. Jesus said “My Kingdom is not of this world.

3.       They traded in all of God’s laws, feast days and Sabbaths with altered laws, pagan feast days and pagan Sabbaths thus removing Christianity from its very foundations.

4.       So they gave a pagan type authority and dominion to men in the place of that authority and dominion which God had given to Adam. So the false church to this day seeks to gain global dominion and authority that is not of God.

                We have never fully recovered from the ravages of this truncated Gospel of human origin. Today we have only a small fraction of that which the Gospel of the Kingdom was intended to restore to us. We “get saved” and then not knowing what else to do, we continue on in the flesh, making some small effort to do better, but we don’t have the power, or the dominion or the authority that Jesus came to deliver to us through the Gospel of the Kingdom. So we limp along hoping for something better someday.

                However, it has been prophesied that in the end of time, when g ross darkness is over all the people, God is going to call us to Arise  and shine for the glory of the Lord has risen upon us.” Isaiah 60:1-3.

                Joel says that in the last days God will pour out His Spirit upon all flesh and we will once again operate in the powers of the kingdom. Jesus promised that the works He did and even greater works would we do.

                Obviously if this is to be done, we need more than just another revival… In fact we need more than Pentecost. Paul says in 2 Cor. 1:21, 22 “Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.” (Earnest, down payment)

                But somehow in these last days, we need a greater outpouring of the Spirit if we are to begin to teach and demonstrate the powers of the Gospel of the Kingdom. All of creation is eagerly waiting the revealing of the sons of God. Romans 8:19 We are that last generation that must step up and carry the baton to the finish line and we must do so with greater power and authority than the Church has seen since the days of Jesus.

                The Lord showed me something this morning as I was reading Mt. 24. I had never noticed this before.  It is in Mt. 24:14, 15.

                Right after Jesus told us that this Gospel of the Kingdom must be preached before He can return He then immediately says in the next verse: “Therefore when you see the ABOMINATNION OF DESOLATION which is spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place… flee”

                Now, whenever the Bible says “Therefore” we need to look in the previous texts to see what it is there for.

                So Jesus wants us to preach the Gospel of the kingdom and to demonstrate its powers, but then He warns us saying, “Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION…Well… what is the connection? Jesus is telling us that just as His Remnant people are about to receive power to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom, Satan is going to jump right into the heart of God’s people and try to take back the authority and dominion that Jesus has given to us. He is going to rule the entire world in the place of Christ and he is going to demonstrate signs and lying wonders. In other words, he is going to try to appear as Christ. He is going to try to eclipse the powers of the Gospel of the Kingdom with powers of his own. He is going to bully his way in by force and try to take the kingdom.

                And as always, what we will see taking place physically in Jerusalem, we will see taking place spiritually in the hearts of God’s people to the point where if possible he will deceive even the very elect. Mt. 24:24.

                This is why we need to learn how to live by the spirit and not by the flesh. If we are in the flesh we will be deceived, but if we are in the Spirit and living by the Spirit, then Satan will have no hold on us.

                So when Romans 8 tells us to live by the spirit and not by the flesh we often think too small. We think in terms of keeping rules. We don’t tend to think in terms of Satan stealing our power and dominion and authority                .

                In truth, we are no match for Satan in the flesh. We absolutely must learn to live by God’s Holy Spirit. That is the only way that we will be able to both teach and demonstrate the powers of the age to come. Moses demonstrated powers superior to those of Jannes and Jambes. Elijah demonstrated a power superior to the prophets of Baal. Daniel demonstrated a power superior to the astrologers in Darius’s court. Jesus demonstrated authority over Satan, over sickness, over sin, over death, over nature and over all the power of the enemy… and He has given that power to us.

                So if we find ourselves living as victims of physical, mental and spiritual oppression, then we are not living by the Spirit as we must. He who dwells in us is infinitely more powerful than he that is in the world. When we live by His power, then Satan is no match. Oh yes, we can get knocked down or blindsided from time to time, but the Holy Spirit is like a life preservers that will send you bobbing to the surface again. Learn to trust in Him and draw from Him rather than from your flesh. Jesus said:

                “Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall injure you.” Luke 10:19

                Friends, we need to move beyond the outer court of the temple and we need to press into the inner chambers to find that which we need in these last days. It is not for our fame or riches or glory. It is for the glory of God… for it has always been His plan to imbue us with power so that we can be His witnesses. He is training us up to be a kingdom and priests so that we can rule and reign with Him in His coming kingdom.

                We see what is taking place in the world.  Bible prophecy is not given to satisfy idle curiosity, but to equip us with understanding and power for the end of the age.

                None of us is worthy. That is why we need the blood of the Lamb to cover our sins and the body of the Lamb to give us strength. We need to be born again and Spirit filled, but more than this we need to learn how to walk in the power and authority which Jesus has given us… with humility and love… for only as we exhibit the character of Christ can we  use His power for His glory and not our own.

                Those who demonstrate the powers of the gospel of the Kingdom in the final harvest will not be the big stars of the screen, or big names before huge crowds, but the nobodies who have humbled their hearts, and put away their flesh in order to walk in the Spirit and the power of Christ.

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